ScorpioN

ScorpioN is now accepting questions! Submit here: thescorpion@megadeth.com. Before you ask a question, read the SCORPION ARCHIVES and make sure that your question has not already been answered! ScorpioN may not be able to answer every question asked. Please only submit one question per email in an easy to read format. Check back here to www.megadeth.com/scorpion often to see if your question was selected! ScorpioN section is updated every Monday.

08/02/2010

Hey Scorpion, I have a question about picture of Jesus in Youthanasia album, where He has a crown of worms (instead of thorns). I read that there is a song 'Crown of Worms' but released only in japanese version. I cannot find any explanation given by Dave or someone else. Question is: What's the meaning of this song and picture?

A Megafan from Poland, Olaf - Greetings to all Megadeth members, especially Dave and Dave.

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Hi Olaf, I went right to Dave Mustaine with your question and this is what he had to say about it.

"The lyrics were written by Sean Harris of Diamond Head fame, and the image was done my Hugh Syme. I have no idea what the inspiration for either was."

Dave, David, Chris and Shawn and The ScorpioN send greetings back to you!

07/27/2010

Hey Scorpion,

I've seen pictures of Dave around 1992-1993 wearing glasses, but have never seen him wearing glasses after that, even to this day. Does Dave wear contacts? Did he have laser eye surgery?

Thanks!

Dave

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Hi Dave,

Dave Mustaine did have eye surgery, specifically the radial keratotomy procedure, to correct his vision in the mid 90's.

07/19/2010

Hi Scorpion, I have a question for Dave Ellefson.

Ellefson stopped being a member of Megadeth in 02'. I read at www.davidellefson.com that he was active in the bands F5 and HAIL! And worked as a record producer and similiar things.
The question is: What was it that made him want to go back to Megadeth mostly?

A huge megafan from Sweden, Fredrik. Love to the Dave's.

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Hi Fredrik, I put your question out to Mr. Ellefson and this is what he had to say about it.

"'My return to Megadeth was one of desire to reunite for the fans and back to the band I enjoyed for so many years. 2010 became a timely year to come back, especially with all the landmark events like the 20th Anniversary 'Rust In Peace' tour and DVD, The Big Four shows and DVD and American Carnage tour."

Thanks for your question, Fredrik. It's great to hear you are such a huge megafan!

-ScorpioN

07/12/2010

Hey Scorpion!

This question is for Chris. I am starting a band of my own and I need to work on the precision in my solos. All of his solos on Endgame blow my mind! What tips does he have for learning them? It seems even when I slow them down they are just so hard! haha. The ones I'm truly trying to learn are How The Story Ends and Bodies.

Thanks!
Connor Liebel, Dover DE

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Hey Connor, I caught up with Chris about this while out here on the tour. Here is what he had to say.

Hey Connor,

Thanks for the compliments, I'm glad you like the solos. As far as learning them you have to remember that those solos are composed using some techniques that I have worked on my entire career. Thats not to say that you couldn't play them without the same amount of time that I invested in the technique but I am trying to get you to be patient with yourself on these. First I would break down the solos into there separate parts (for How the Story ends I has four cycles of the rhythm behind it and I wanted each next cycle to get more intense). These parts can have different techniques involved including, bending, string skipping, tapping, sweeping, alternate scale picking etc... that I would furthure break the solo apart with. Then start working with these different techniques and train your hand how to achieve them effortlessly. This is the most important thing I can teach is that the speed you play something at is not important as long as you can play it relaxed and focused, until that point you shouldn't worry about playing it at a tempo that creates stress (mentally or physically).

I hope this helps, and don't forget to just have fun with it to.
Chris.

07/05/2010

Hi Scorpion question for Chris

All the other members have something signature Dave has his Deans, David has his Peaveys and Shawn has his Snare so is there any plan for an Ibanez Chris Broderick guitar yet?

Thanks
Sam

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Here's the answer straight from Chris:

Hey Sam,

Things are in the works however I would prefer to not divulge exactly what at this time. I will let you know when I can.

Take care, Chris.

Keep updated at Megadeth.com and the MFC for more from Chris!

06/28/2010

Hey Scorp,
I missed the Big 4 in the theater, where can I see the show now?

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According to Billboard.com, VH1 will broadcast Sonisphere in the USA, and the DVD of the cinema presentation is set to be released later this year. The Cinecast is being shown in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa during July.

06/22/2010

Hi Scorpion! I haven't got any question... I just wanted to thank with all my heart Megadeth and all Megacrew for the best gig I've ever been- Megadeth on the Big 4 in Poland. It was awesome and my dreams came true! Thank You very, very much!
Best regards Paul.

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Hi Paul, from Megadeth and the Megacrew, you are most welcome!

I just sent your email over to David Ellefson and he sent back this reply for you.

"The Big Four show was the dream come true for the bands AND fans! This was a long time coming and to stand that stage with everyone being so positive was awe inspiring. At the end of the day, I guess 80,000 fans must have been right all along...this really IS what they wanted to see happen for all of us.

David Ellefson"

06/14/2010

Hi Scorpion, what is the current setlist Megadeth is playing on tour?

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Megadeth is in Europe right now, doing a combination of headline shows and festivals, some featuring the "Big Four" lineup of Metallica/Megadeth/Slayer/Anthrax. Their setlist changes depending on the amount of time they have to play. The song selection is a mix of the entire Rust In Peace album (when time allows,) songs from the current album Endgame and some older favorites. Here's the setlist from a recent show in Tilburg, Holland on June 7th:

For all setlists and reviews from the current tour, visit the MegaFanClub.

06/07/2010

Hey Scorpion, I am a huge fan of Megadeth and there is rumors that there is going to be a Guitar Hero Megadeth is that true?

Brook

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Hi Brook, news of this officially came out just last week.

This fall, living room legends and their friends will join together and embark on an epic rock journey to save rock n' roll with Activision Publishing, Inc.'s Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. Delivering the largest on-disc rock music set list to-date, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock features more than 90 tracks that include guitar shredding hits from bands such as Black Sabbath, Megadeth and Slipknot and larger than life anthems from Queen, Muse and KISS. Additionally, Dave Mustaine wrote and recorded "Sudden Death", an original track for the game, which was inspired by Quest Mode's storyline.

Dave Mustaine says the track is brutal, and "I'm sure some fans will think it's the greatest thing we've ever done. But other people will say it sucks. That's just the way of the world."

"I thought it was a great idea for us," says Mustaine. "We've had experience with games in the past, and our songs have been in sports games and Grand Theft Auto, but we never really got into the Guitar Hero thing. When they talked to us about doing this, I never imagined it would be something this honorable."

First off I have to say, the Rust In Peace 20th anniversary tour was PHENOMENAL. Being a bassist myself and seeing Ellefson on the stage in front of me was (to say the least) inspiring. I recently finished reading The Dirt by Motley Crue and got to thinking "Why hasn't Dave written an autobiography?" I read in the archives about the book explaining his lyrics, which is fantastic, but is Dave ever planning on writing about all his experiences with Megadeth and the hardships he has faced in his life? I'm sure there are legions of other droogies just like myself dying to know more about the man we all look up to!

Sincerely,

Taylor - Calgary, AB

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Hi Taylor, in fact, Dave Mustaine has already finished writing his new book, "MUSTAINE: A Heavy Metal Memoir", which is tentatively scheduled for release in late 2010. The book was co-written by New York Times journalist Joe Layden who also wrote "The Last Great Fight".
When Dave was asked about the difficulty of writing a 100% honest autobiography, he replied, "If you're going to write an autobiography, everything has to be included  the good and happy moments, as well as the hard times. You can't leave anything out."

Watch Dave in an interview from August 2009 talking about his book here: video interview

05/24/2010

Where did Chris Broderick find the time to practise enough to be that good at guitar AND get the figure of an athlete?

-Matt

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Hi Matt, I asked Chris your question and he quite simply put...

"I do nothing else but practice and work out Ahahahhaah.
Take care, Chris."

;)

05/17/2010

Hi Scorpion,

I have a question for Chris. Which strings he is using now in Megadeth and which gauges does he prefer? And also I wonder thichness of his pick.

Dave and Chris are awesome players, they inspire me alot. I cant wait to see Megadeth live. Thanks.

I was wondering who Dave Mustaine thinks is the most talented guitarist he's worked with? Poland? Friedman? Young?

-Colin

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Hi Colin,

The answer is, Broderick. ;)

05/04/2010

hello scorpion, can you tell me what is the latest gear Megadeth is using for their sound and what new guitars Dave is using?
thanks

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Dave recently spoke about his new guitar with Dean and the lastest on Megadeth's amp and effects rig in an interview with Hardrock Haven:

"We just introduced a brand new acoustic guitar and I thought if I'm gonna have an acoustic guitar I better be able to play it in a metal band. So I developed this guitar and I use it on several of our songs.
It's actually being delivered to me here tonight; it's called the "Mako" and is named after the shark. It's really solid, it's got very interesting sound-holes, it's got very unorthodox sound-holes and a very sharp single cutaway so it's very cool."

"What I used in the studio was the Marshall JVM 410H, on stage we use the EL-34 100/100 mono blocks for power and we use the Digitech DSP, but we're going to switch to Fractal. They have an amazing unit and I'm really, really impressed with it. It's very complex so for us to use all of the benefits of the machine we weren't able to employ it in our rigs yet, but we did in the studio and it was mind blowing."

04/26/2010

Hi there!

I've just watched the new video for "The Right To Go Insane", which is realy awesome, the best music video i saw for a very long time!

I just wonder if there were parts from the actual footage of this "accident" from 1995, which gave the inspiration for the video, or even for the song from beginning on?

Anyway, it's realy cool.

Cheers, Martin

Hi Martin, the answer to your question is yes, actual footage from the incident was used in the Megadeth video. Several of the scenes show the real tank and what happened on that day.

"The Right To Go Insane" video is based on the events of May 17, 1995 when Shawn Timothy Nelson, a U.S. Army veteran and unemployed plumber, stole an M60 Patton tank from a United States National Guard Armory in San Diego, California and went on a rampage, destroying cars, fire hydrants, and an RV before being shot dead by police.

04/20/2010

Hey there, Scorpion!

In recent interviews, David Ellefson has mentioned the band UFO. As I am a fan of both Megadeth and UFO, I was wondering if David could shed some light on some of his favorite UFO albums and songs?

Thank You,
Jeremy

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Hey Jeremy, I caught up with David while he was in Mexico recently on Megadeth's Latin America tour for 2010, and this is what he had to say about the great band, UFO!

"My stories are only that Pete Way and I became friendly when Waysted opened for Iron Maiden at Irvine Meadows, CA back in 1988. To me, Pete was an icon bassist with UFO. He played cool lines, looked cool and was the quintessential English hard rocker.

Pete and his girlfriend came to the European Clash of the Titans show in Birmingham England in 1990 and by then we were professional 'contemporaries'. It was an honor to now have him as a guest at our show as Megadeth was on the rise in a big way that year.

Other than that, Michael Schenker and I have been friends since 1993 when we first met in Los Angeles. He then lived by me in Scottsdale, AZ for many years, although we only met up once at our local grocery store a few years back!

UFO were a staple in my record collection as a kid and it is a thrill for me to know them as friends, even as a professional player now."

Keep rockin' Jeremy! You and David have some great taste in music!

-Scorpion

04/13/2010

Dear Scorpion, I have two questions for Chris Broderick. The first one is,
who are some of his favorite non-metal guitar players? My second question is
what are some of Chris's favorite classical pieces to play on guitar?

Danny

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Hi Danny, I put your questions out to Chris and this is what he had to say.

What are some of my favorite classical pieces to play on guitar? Any of the Bach Lute suits, Quatro Valses Venezolanos by Antonio Lauro, Etudes 1-4 and 9 by Villo Lobos, and Sonata Giocosa by Joaquin Rodrigo.

Take care, Chris.

03/30/2010

Not a question for Dave, which is probably a rarity. The question is for Shawn Drover...Shawn has it been easy to adapt to the groundwork laid before you on the skins? Megadeth has had some of the most brutal beats and was also curious to find out if you play them note for note or adapt them to your/Dave's liking? Lastly, out of all past Megadeth's drummers( besides yourself, because you and I know you kick major ass!) who is your favorite?? RIP GAR!!

Joe Silverstein

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Hi Joe and thanks for your question. Since I have listened to Megadeth since 1985, it was not too difficult to adapt and execute the previous drummers style, though Playing Gar's stuff is a little more tricky for me, I must say, and on that note, Gar is my fav Megadeth drummer, to answer your last question. :-)

be well,
Shawn

03/24/2010

Hello,

I don't really have much of a question just something i really feel i need to get out there. Simple put i consider A Tout Le Monde one of the songs that saved my life. I know you probably hear this story every fuckin' day, and I know that this song really has nothing to do with my story, but i have struggled with depression my whole life and contemplating suicide for a good portion of that time. Most of my depression came from what i call "abandonment issues" with my father leaving at a young age as well as a lacking in the "love department (haha). I spent a lot of time finding comfort in music of all kinds but this song specifically stands out in my mind. I ultimately found my calling and have come to peace with my life pretty, and i credit all of my new found outlook on life to one line of one song... "Moving on is a simple thing, What it leaves behind is hard." Now im sure this message probably wont even get read but i feel a certain sence of liberation doing this. Soooo i guess what this is all about is my deepest thanks to Megadeth and Dave specifically for helping out some lonely kid in the midwest!

Nick

Hi Nick, thanks for sharing your story. A Tout Le Monde is definitely an inspirational song and we're glad you wrote and that you've found some peace.

02/24/2010

got a quick question, there's a lot of frauds on facebook where people claim to be someone they're not, does Dave have a facebook or have I been taken?

also, if you could pass a message onto Dave, just want to say thanks for the inspiration to get and remain clean. 13 years no drugs

Jon

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Hi Jon, Dave Mustaine does not have a personal facebook page. The official page for Dave/Megadeth is www.facebook.com/megadeth. You have been taken and we do appreciate anyone to report fraudulent pages.

I will pass your message onto Dave. He will be happy to hear!

02/16/2010

Hey Scorpion,

Over the years dave has had a few guitars with both Jackson and ESP. Now that Dave's doubleneck from Dean has been release, I was curious if he was ever had the intention of playing it LIVE as with the other Doublenecks.

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I asked Dave about playing the Dean doubleneck and this is what he had to say:

"I might have, I dont remember. I have played it before, but I am not sure. I do know that I used the Jackson and ESP double necks and the Dean is the cleanest made guitar of them all."

In a recent Scorpion column, Dave added this in regards to the great doublenecks:

"The obvious answer is that it weighs a lot and hurts my shoulder to wear the guitar. I am currently working as hard as I can to strengthen my shoulders and back, and I hope to be able to wear any of my guitars without incident, let alone the mighty flying W."

02/03/2010

hi, i was wondering if sometime in the future there will be a left handed version of the VMNT.

thanks alot, Jackrattlehead.

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Hi Jack, I asked Dave Mustaine about this and he had this to say:

"A left-handed VMNT would be no problem. It just takes a little time to make and I think it would be really cool to have a lefty. This would no doubt have to come through our custom shop."

Might be a plan to shoot Dean an e-mail over at deanguitars.com. Let them know that you are after one! ;)

01/25/2010

DearesT ScorpioN,

I was wondering about Dialectic Chaos off the new ENDGAME album....

was it planned to do an instrumental, was it like like, lets just let chris destroy and wreak havoc on this one, i'm sure dave has the hampster in his head running overtime on the wheel as of late.

Both Dave and Chris are amazingly talented and experienced guitarists ..can we get the low down on ideas for dialectic chaos and is there any other instrumental songs and can we expect more?

Hi Barry, the first track "Dialectic Chaos" from Megadeth's new album "Endgame" was intended to be an instrumental from the get-go. Both Dave and Chris solo on that song, so it is not just Chris destroying, unless you are suggesting Dave is not destroying too? ;)

There have been other instrumentals. "Into The Lungs Of Hell" from "SFSGSW", the bonus track "Absolution" from "Youthansia", the bonus track "Duke Nukem Theme" from the Japanese release of "Risk" (also on the "Duke Nukem: Music To Score By" soundtrack), and no word yet on what is planned for the future, but I'm sure Dave and Chris are cooking up some kick-ass guitar solos for the next Megadeth album!

01/19/2010

Hi Scorpion.

Dave has been a musician for more than 25 years now and I know he has grown much as a person as well as a musician. How does he look back on some of the old lyrics and songs he has written? Are there lyrics that he does not agree with anymore, or is it all still relavent in some way to him?

Thanks in advance
God bless.

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Hi there, I put your questions over to the man himself and he had this to say about it...

"The only thing that I question now is the lyrics about the occult. I know that the Conjuring has a spell in it, and even though I jumbled the lines, and left some stuff out, I know that the darkside is relishing me talking about or repeating the hex."

01/11/2010

Hey,
I was just wondering if you guys would ever consider doing a whole guitar hero game based on your band. It would definately be the greatest addition yet, without question.
Thanks,
Travis

Will Megadeth ever be on a Guitar Hero game? I dont mean have a song or two like Guitar Hero 2, but have their own game like a couple of other bands. I am a huge Megadeth fan and would just enjoy the hell out of a Megadeth Guitar hero game.
Vernon

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The Guitar Hero question is a very popular one for the Scorpion. I sent it to Dave and he had a lot to say about it. Enjoy!!

"I have recently had two very important high-level meetings with the people from Activision and Neversoft, and we are talking about a lot of things, but a Guitar Hero box set is not as attractive to me and the people from Guitar Hero as the new idea that they offered me, as the creative stuff that we are talking about is over-the-moon! I just hope that someone doesnt stand in the way of this happening. I know that there are a lot of really damaging results from our mothership (WEA) having some legal disputes with YouTube and Guitar Hero to name just a few."

01/04/2010

Ok, I'm a huge megafan, I got introduced into megadeth back when I was around 7 or 8, now being 17, I have covered a few megadeth songs (me taking up lead on my jackson randy rhodes model) and I just got the warchest and I realized the duke nukem theme song was on there, also being a huge gamer I played it constanly to doom, I was wondering if dave played(s) games when he has time still?

1000 times thanks
AceDoomer

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Hi Ace, I sent your question to Dave, and here's what he had to say about games:

"I am not a gamer, but I do like to play a little bit. I guess you have to grow up with the controller to understand how to use all of the combos patterns. I once bought the game "the Punisher" 18 years ago, and I was so overwhelmingly out of control, and I knew it because I had never played and the next thing you know, all I could think about is how do you beat this game. I finally beat it, but it was after a long few days of neglecting my wife, and being really glaringly addicted to the game."

12/28/2009

Hello,

I would like to ask the band what is the meaning behind the song "The Hardest Part Of Letting Go... Sealed With A Kiss." I find this song to be incredibly interesting both instrumentally as well as lyrically. I think it seems to follow along the lines of "Promises", but the latter shows little or no frustration. Thanks!

Alex

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Hi Alex,

I passed your question along to Dave, and he spoke about the inspiration behind the song and it's lyrical similarity to "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due." Dave explains:

"This was a song that Pam asked me to write for her, but she isn't too happy about the lyrics of "SWAK". I told her that the second half was not about her, much like "HW TPD" and the second half of the song being a different song that is connected with a segue. I told her that I had already written a few songs about her, but that since she doesn't like my band, she doesn't know which songs they are. I really love how this song turned out."

12/22/2009

Hey there.

I was on Marty Friedman's website a few years ago, and I remembered reading something about Dawn Patrol having a guitar track, which was removed before the album was released. After looking it up again, he describes it as "a heavy, dissonant guitar riff that was so strange [he] couldn't believe [Megadeth was] planning to record it." I just want to know, has this guitar riff been used in another Megadeth song that was released?

Thanks.
-Aassem

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Hi Aassem, I asked Dave about a guitar part for "Dawn Patrol," here's his reply:

"I have no idea what you are talking about. There was never a guitar riff here. Junior wrote that bass riff, and there was no guitar part. Besides, I thought Megadeth music was so infantile and so predictable for Marty, I am surprised that he remembers anything."

12/14/2009

I was listening to I know Jack when I got The System Has Failed.

I was listening to it and I was amazed by the guitar riff. I expected Dave to start singing, but instead it ended...

A ton of my friends (including the non-Megadeth fans) seemed to be disappointed. Is there a specific reason why it ended all of a sudden?

And do you think you can ever reuse that riff for another song?

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This week's Scorpion is part one of three about Megadeth songs. Stay tuned for more questions about "Dawn Patrol" and "The Hardest Part Of Letting Go...Sealed With A Kiss."

I passed your question along to Dave, here's what he had to say about "I Know Jack":

"It ended because the song was over. I have no plans to regurgitate riffs under new names. I was already embarrassed enough when I was told that the record company was changing the title of A Tout Le Monde to Set Me Free, so no, there is no intention of re-recording that."

12/07/2009

Hey i just wanted to know why dave stoped useing a double v gutair on the song trust. I was watching him play it on the woodstock show and it was amazeing thanks nick.

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Hi Nick,

I think we all miss seeing the doubleneck guitar make it's appearance during Trust. I asked Dave about it, and fortunately he misses it too! Here's what he had to say:

"The obvious answer is that it weighs a lot and hurts my shoulder to wear the guitar. I am currently working as hard as I can to strengthen my shoulders and back, and I hope to be able to wear any of my guitars without incident, let alone the mighty flying W."